This relates generally to testing wireless electronic devices and more particularly, to testing wireless electronic devices in a real-world environment.
Electronic devices such as portable computers and cellular telephones are often provided with wireless communications capabilities. For example, electronic devices may use long-range wireless communications circuitry such as cellular telephone circuitry to communicate using cellular telephone bands at 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz, and 2100 MHz. Electronic devices may use short-range wireless communications circuitry to handle communications with nearby equipment. For example, electronic devices may communicate using the WiFi® (IEEE 802.11) bands at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz and the Bluetooth® band at 2.4 GHz.
During normal operation, wireless electronic devices are often used to communicate data to wireless communications equipment in a building. For example, a wireless electronic device may exchange data with a remote computer or another wireless electronic device using a wireless communications router located in the building. The efficiency with which a wireless electronic device exchanges data with the computer is typically affected by the distance of the device from the router, orientation of the device and building structures such as walls, doors, windows, etc., between the device and the router.
During testing, wireless electronic devices under test (DUTs) are typically tested in fixed test stations. Fixed test stations provide repeatable test conditions for testing multiple devices under the same conditions. However, fixed test stations may not provide sufficient information on the communications performance of the DUT in real-world conditions that mimic the typical use of the device by a user.
It would therefore be desirable to provide improved test systems for electronic devices with wireless communications capabilities.